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4 May 2007

Long time, no post! I knew it would happen - I'm no blogger, so I can't sustain daily posts of little substance.

I've decided to turn the news section into a library of the sort of interesting but useless stuff that I know I'll end up mentioning in a conversation some day.

At least this way, when people doubt me, I can point them to a reference

16 August 2006

A bit of trivia: I got no results when searching Google, Yahoo and even MSN search, looking for "({)". I wonder if this is a syntax issue or whether no one has actually included ({) in an indexed page.

For the majority not in the know: ({) translates to the little hug icon in MSN messenger. (}) is a hug back.

10 August 2006

Attended a poker game last night - my first taste of Texas Hold'em. I had a great time playing and, once my chips were gone, just as much fun studying the remaining players.

Our host and winner of the night's pot, the amazing Tung ("never let him see the river!"), had earlier in the week asked the group, "What makes a good poker player?"

I thought about it at the time and then again after the match and this is what I came up with:

Practical

Psychological

Strategic

> Has confidence in his/her knowledge of the game.

> Can process information, weigh odds, and make quick decisions.

> Adapts strategies in response to new information.

> Does not allow his/her behaviour to be influenced by his/her previous hands.

> Has confidence in his/her decisions.

> Can 'read' people.

> Ensures others cannot read him/her.

> Can fake signs to fool people who are trying to read him/her.

25 June 2006

I can be such a smartass! I was just looking over some old emails when I found a program that I sent to a colleague:

10 May 2006

17 April 2006

I've added a section devoted to breadcrumbs. There are currently four implementations in two languages (JavaScript and PHP). I intend to add Perl/CGI in the near future and eventually a Java implementation. If I'm feeling nice, one day I may even throw in an ASP version

12 April 2006

A bit of tweaking and the news now wraps around the site intro. Previously, it extended down the right hand side of the page in a thin strip.

Being the hoarder that I am, I was reluctant to start archiving the news bites so soon. At least now they don't look too ridiculous.

25 March 2006

You could almost set your watch by it. Every two years, there is a
flurry of activity and I produce a new home page over the course of a
week or two

This time round, my inspiration was mostly to do with the erosion of this site's rank in google searches for Justin Whitford.

Not content with the 1st result being one of my contributions to Evolt, I had to make sure that this site still ranked well. To do that I had to make it useful, relevant and current

What we now have is the more useful, relevant and easy to update web site

I've also designed the site with a few target audiences in mind. The basic site makes compromises, but if you enter an access code (ask me for one), the site content and navigation changes subtly

Family get their applications and more pictures; chat friends get more pictures; and prospective employers get more vocationally focussed information

Of course, if I log in, I get everything - plus the ability to update the content on this page.

17-08-07
More on copyright
Anaylst firm gets busted for distributing articles to employees.

13-08-07
Gabriel Estavao Monjane
There's been some news coverage lately of a new "world's tallest man". Some colleagues and I were discussing it when I mentioned that a previous holder of the title died from falling over because it was such a long way to fall. Understandably, one of my colleagues called bullsh!t. Never doubt me, people ;-)

04-04-07
Kids that change gender at puberty
Guevedoche is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder which is characterized by a phenotypically female child (genotypically male) who at puberty will become anatomically male.

20-07-06
Doctor, your sponge is beeping
The idea of putting RFID tags on surgical instruments so the surgeon can wave a detector over the patient to make sure no tools have been sewn up inside. Does it really happen that often?!

08-05-06:
Hoodwinking the censors
Interview with the makers of Psiphon, an application that allows people to bypass a country's censorship of the Internet. I feel like such a minority, but I really think that western countries need to learn to mind their own business. There seems to be this arrogant assumption that the western way of life - with western culture, values and political systems - is the only right way to live and that we need to convert everyone else. Personally, I like the fact that there are lots of different cultures, values and ways of life out there. It pains me to watch the war on diversity pan out.

02-05-06:
Coffee makes us say 'yes'
Apparently, the equivalent of two cups of coffee causes your brain to systematically process information, which makes you more susceptible to persuasion.

20-04-06:
Tiny Reactor Boosts Biodiesel Production
This looks very promising:
"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people". I like the quote but I wont be surprised if the technology ends up being prohibitively expensive for a decade.

13-04-06:
Miaow to kitten-based authentication
Another take on the Turing test. When signing up for an account, instead of reading an obscured word to prove that you're not a computer, just indicate which three of these animals are kittens. Unfortunately, this suffers from the same problem as the obscured words: how does a blind person prove that they're not a computer?

08-04-06:
'Star Wars Kid' cuts a deal with his tormentors
This is kinda sad, really. The video, if you've seen it, is pretty funny. But what you have to take into account is that this kid didn't choose to share an embarrassing moment with the world. The poor kid had to go to school and face daily ridicule.... and, yes, I'm aware of the irony of me saying that and posting a link to the video

Having worked in the Internet industry since 2000, Justin has a wealth of commercial experience. Justin's approach to web development is characterised by forward thinking and technical flair, tempered by the pragmatism that results from solid business experience

All offers of employment (including international offers) seriously considered